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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars
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Does Glass Shape Really Matter?
The next time you pour yourself a glass of wine, take a moment to study the glass itself: Does it feel light and balanced in your hand? When you hold it up to a bright white surface, does it sparkle? Touch glasses with your companion; do you hear something like a bell ringing? When you swirl the wine, do the aromas linger in your glass? Raise the glass to your lips; do the temperature, texture, and taste of the wine come together in perfect harmony?
To Protect and Preserve
For wine enthusiasts, there are few greater delights than enjoying a library wine that has benefited from years of bottle aging. Conversely, there is almost no greater disappointment than opening that same prized bottle only to find it has been ruined due to storage conditions. Similar to living things, wine responds to the environment in which it is kept. Following are some helpful suggestions to ensure that your wines taste as good, if not better, as the day you brought them home.
A Question of Balance
As we prepare for harvest in the vineyard, we are trying to achieve balance in our vines. Vine balance occurs when a vine has reached the optimal leaf canopy size to ripen the fruit it carries. Each season contributes its own unique influence on vine balance. Vineyard design, which includes row orientation, type of trellis system, and spacing decisions, as well as soil types and climate, all influence the potential balance of the vine.
Roll Out the Barrels
Certain smells articulate a wine’s beginnings with particular clarity. Flowering grapevines delicately perfume the spring; the heady scent of fermenting grape juice marks the fall. Winter offers my favorite smell. In the caves, aromas of Cabernet Sauvignon permeate oak barrels, contrasting powerfully with the cold, crisp, almost sterile air of winter— a visceral reminder that the barrels house a living, breathing product of the grape and a preservation of summer’s abundance. The magnificent blend of toasty oak and ripe, berry aromas is so evocative that it regularly elicits gasps of appreciation from visitors.
Paris Tasting Recreated at Expovinis, Brazil
A recreation of the famous Paris Tasting was held at this year’s Expovinis Brazil International Wine Fair, with the results soundly repeating the original 1976 tasting.
Community
“Just opened a bottle of 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon last night, pulled from a friends cellar a generous friend, I might add. The cork broke and the initial pour was questionable. Within fifteen minutes, the second pour was a revelation, with a dark, black fruit nose mingled with olive tapenade and spice. The palate was strutting a lush mouthfeel and plenty of fruit. This wine caught everyone by surprise, and was a joy to consume. At 13 percent alcohol, this wine still has a life ahead of it. ”
“We drank the Fay Block 7 from the May (wine club shipment) and felt it was one on the best Napa Cabs we have ever had!
Editor's note: This wine is only available to wine club members and guests of the winery.”
Auctions
South Beach
Wine & Food Festival
Silent Auction
- Miami, FL - February 25, 2010
Sotheby's New York
- March 20, 2010